Australia has approximately 75 Group 1 races at the moment (depending on the latest pattern committee decision), and it has been widely discussed in the media this year that this number is way too high.

Australia stages four Group 1 Derbies over 2400m to 2500m despite a breeding industry that prioritises speed over stamina. In contrast, Europe’s elite racing nations England, Ireland, and France each run a single Derby, backed by 250 years of staying bloodlines. Australia is running endurance tests for a population of sprinters and milers. 

The result: diluted quality and a lack of purpose. Australia does not breed stayers in the volume required to justify four separate Classics.

The European Benchmark

Europe’s Derbies are concentrated in June, ensuring runners compete at peak, uniform physical maturity, roughly 28 months from foaling.

Australia’s program is fragmented. A wide age gap and disparate race dates create significant developmental imbalances between runners.

The Victorian Derby is much too early. Runners are 5 to 7 months younger than their autumn counterparts, a 20-25% deficit in developmental lifespan. Some contestants are biologically two-year-olds.

The race is too taxing, hence why most runners fail to repeat Group 1 form. The combination of extreme distance, fast ground and immaturity wears them out before they can train on.

Observer (Ghaiyyath) winning the 2025 Victorian Derby Source: Just Horse Racing

What the French Derby Tells Us

In 2005, the French Derby (Prix du Jockey Club) was reduced from 2400m to 2100m to save its status as a stallion-maker. The move was a triumph. 

Since 2005 winners of the French Derby (2100m) include the likes of Shamardal, Lope de Vega, Le Havre, New Bay and St Mark’s Basilica all have made an impact on the European stallion landscape. Notably, French Derby winners have produced 127 more stakes winners than their Epsom and Irish Derby (both 2400m) counterparts in the same period.

A quick reminder that stamina without speed has little value at stud in this modern era. 

The Hong Kong Reality Check

Hong Kong is Australia’s vital export market, yet it has less appetite for true stayers.  Its program features only three stakes races beyond 2000m: the Hong Kong Vase, Queen Mother Memorial Cup and the Standard Chartered Cup.

We are running four 2400m / 2500m Derbies, which creates a profile that has little value at stud and less value towards the export market, both wanting horses with top performance at 1000m–2000m. 

If the current derbies mostly serve as a platform to sell horses to Asia, then let's retool them so the proposition is more appealing to both buyers and sellers.

The current program ignores the economic reality of the industry.

Cap Ferrat (Snitzel) winning the Hong Kong Derby Source: Hong Kong Jockey Club

What Should We Do?

Reclassify the VRC Derby as a Group 2 race over 1800m, positioning it as a development race for the AJC Derby and/or the following year's Cox Plate, sparing immature horses the physical toll of 2500m on fast ground when many of them are still 2yo according to their date of birth.

Retain the AJC Derby at Group 1, but reduce it to 2000m. As a late-season test for mature horses, it is the only Derby that justifies Group 1 status as a genuine staying Classic, and the only Australian Derby to have produced a significant commercial stallion in the last 20 years, Dundeel.

The eventual winner of these two races could stamp himself as the best stayer of his generation in Australasia, with genuine appeal at stud in Australia and New Zealand. Bred to sprinting mares, such a stallion could produce horses capable of competing from 1000m to 2000m, giving him broad commercial appeal.

Strip the SA and QLD Derbies of their Group 1 and Derby status. Replace both with high-value 1000m–2000m races that align with the Australian breed and provide proper trials for the Asian market. 

Group One races should give their best contenders the chance to contribute back to the breed.

The best three-year-old colt, one capable of winning a top race in the spring over 1800m and backing it up in the autumn over 2000m at Group 1 level, could then be celebrated as the best three-year-old stayer of his generation, with significant stud appeal to match.

A national approach that respects the smaller racing states

The name Derby is widely renowned as a symbol of excellence and stamina.

However, we understand that each racing state needs its moment in the sun, its crowning glory. Much of the local racing and breeding industry needs something grand to aim for.

Just as the Quokka has revitalised WA racing, or the Everest has done for NSW, new incentives and race concepts could be brought forward to complement the existing program and give the smaller racing states their own pinnacle race.

What we don't need is more Group Ones, and certainly not more Derbies.


Astute Bloodstock has no political agenda and no hidden motive. This page exists to share some of our observations, research, and opinions, drawn from 40 years of combined industry experience, international exposure, and an analytical approach.

We're not here to ruffle feathers, just to point out the elephant in the room, in the hope of challenging our industry leaders' thinking and encouraging positive change. Everything written here is Louis’s opinion, backed by facts, careful analysis, and a measured perspective. You may find it thought-provoking, and we would welcome your perspective.